Globally, breast cancer is the most common cancer affecting women. In 2018 more than two million new cases were reported worldwide. Of all regions worldwide, North America has the highest incidence of breast cancer, and, overall, new cases of the disease are diagnosed more frequently in countries in developed regions of the world, such as North America and Europe, than in countries in impoverished regions, such as certain areas of Asia and Africa. However, differences in breast cancer incidence and death rate between developed and developing regions are due primarily to differences in the organization and financial state of health care infrastructures. The global disparities in screening and treatment, as well as the persistently high incidence of the disease on a global scale, have led to a significant increase in international interest in breast cancer awareness campaigns since the late 1990s.

Throughout Breast Cancer Awareness Month, science forums, educational programs, and informational pamphlets and posters are used as means to disseminate information to the public. A number of special events are held as well, including National Mammogram Day in the United States, which focuses on the importance of screening and early detection of breast cancer. In addition, fund-raising activities, such as walks, runs, auctions, concerts, and other charity events, are held in countries around the world. The money collected by these events typically goes toward local, national, or international funding for breast cancer research. Scientific conferences and meetings of international cancer organizations also may be scheduled in conjunction with awareness campaigns.

The major international symbol of Breast Cancer Awareness Month is the colour pink. In the 1990s the pink ribbon stood as the primary emblem of support. However, the colour pink is used in a variety of ways, including on clothing, posters, and Internet Web sites, to demonstrate individual and collective awareness of breast cancer.

In 2000 Estée Lauder, Inc., a fragrance and cosmetics company, launched Global Illumination, a project in which major global landmarks are illuminated by pink light for one or more days in October in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Illuminated landmarks have included the Sydney Opera House, Niagara Falls, the Brandenburg Gate, the Empire State Building, the Taipei 101 building, and the Tower of London.

The overt commercialization of Breast Cancer Awareness Month has been a source of criticism, as has its potentially misleading promotion of and messaging about mammography as the solution to breast cancer prevention. Critics claim that the month of October for women has become more about encouraging women to undergo mammography, ensuring that screening programs remain cost-effective for companies supplying mammography technologies, than having meaningful discussions about breast cancer causes, prevention, and treatment. Moreover, breast cancer awareness campaigns have been criticized for stereotyping and objectifying women and for outright feminization of breast cancer, with excessive marketing of pink products and little or no money from these products being donated to breast cancer research or related causes.

About this event

KALABASHI CONCERT is a packed event with choral music renditions and an African stage musical as the highlight. The first part will feature four choirs performing sacred, patriotic, and folksongs by Gme/Ghanaian composers. The musical, which is the highlight, will feature the sensational Harmonious Chorale. The third part will be the highlife time, where danceable choral tunes popular in the Ghanaian choral scene will be rendered by selected choirs featuring that night.

SONGS OF AKOTAM

Play and Music by: George Mensah Essilfie

This is a five-act stage musical with a traditional African setting. Akotam is a fictional Akan village. The imaginary village concept for the stage inspired the story and the compositions.

In the story, Kamuta, the wicket giant, captures Abokuma, the beautiful princess of Akotam. Will the secret to saving the princess from the terrors of Kamuta lie with the rich, the wise or the strong. In search of this secrete to rescue the princess, the spirit of camaraderie is reawakened among the inhabitants. Akotam, once described as “the village with a music soul” and now without its passion, gets revived once more.

Songs of Akotam is an original story by George Mensah Essilfie. The play comprises 12 songs, the majority of which are original compositions. Some are folk songs while others are founded on traditional motifs and tunes. The exotic harmonies used in the musical are enough to characterize the musical as a true African stage musical. Some melodies are pentatonic (5 notes), and some are tetratonic.

Before launching in-person experiences, Eagle Eye Projects and Events thoughtfully considers the health and safety risks for the event. This way we are resourceful in determining what risks are present and how to address them. Many factors can influence an event’s risk prole, including the location of the venue, the purpose of the event, and the event attendees. This has even become more crucial now because of COVID-19. Eagle Eye Projects and Events assumes that during a global pandemic when there is COVID-19 prevalence in virtually every locale, every event goer and staff member could transmit the virus. Because everyone is a potential transmission risk, taking appropriate safety and risk management measures is crucial. As event organizers, we have a duty of care- to both our attendees and our staff. The larger the event, the more important health, and safety, but even for small events it should still be a consideration. This means taking reasonable steps to prevent harm from coming to anyone involved in your event and forward planning in case of any emergency situations that could arise. We follow this guide to identify potential hazards in your event and take the necessary steps to protect all parties involved.

Before any event, we:

Conduct a risk assessment and identify how to mitigate those risks.

Review the safety steps and complete our safety checklist to capture what safety and security measures you have considered and selected for your event.

Communicate safety policies and procedures to your attendees and staff.

Review this information regularly in the lead up to your event, and use your safety checklist the day of your event to confirm you’re implementing the selected safety steps.

Below is the in-depth protocol we follow to ensure safety during all our events.

1. We assess the suitability of your venue.

Factors we consider are:

Capacity – can your attendees be safely accommodated inside the venue? Will they be standing or seated? Is there room to circulate? Are there pinch points where overcrowding could occur?

Access – is there sufficient access to the event site/venue for pedestrians and vehicles? Are people with disabilities, wheelchairs or pushchairs able to access the venue? Are there enough emergency exits?

Hazards – does the site have any existing hazards, such as overhead electric power lines or buried services that your structures could interfere with? Is it prone to flooding or high winds? Consider ground conditions and topography when positioning any temporary structures.

Facilities – how far away are the nearest hospital and fire station? What are the public transport links like? Consider the infrastructure you need for your events.

Once we have confirmed the suitability of your venue, we draft a site plan indicating where the structures, facilities, fencing lines, entrances, and exits will be. We make the plan available to all contractors, suppliers, and staff working on the event.

2. We create emergency plan

Now we think about any risks to safety that might be present at your event and rate their risk level. Using a scale from 1-5, with 1 presenting a negligible risk and 5 presenting a very severe risk. Hazards to be considered include:

Trip or equipment hazards – are there any cables or guy ropes that people could trip over? Is there glass people could bump into? Could people come into contact with generators or other electrical equipment? Is there equipment that could get wet?

Crowd management hazards – could crushing/overcrowding occur? How would aggressive/drunken behaviour be handled? Could people be at risk around roads or car parks?

Crew hazards – how will you protect those working for you from lifting and carrying injuries?

First aid hazards – could people become injured through the activities of your event? What injuries could occur? Could runners suffer heat exhaustion in high temperatures? What would happen if an attendee suffered a heart attack?

Weather hazards – could the ground become slippery when wet? Could the wind pose a risk to the stability of your structures? Could equipment get wet or become overheated?

Environmental hazards – could event activities damage the venue or site? Could rubbish pose a risk to wildlife? Could contamination occur from any spillages?

Fire hazards – how will you control smoking in the venue or onsite? Could campers use barbecues or stoves? Could an electrical fire occur? Are there re extinguishers?

Catering hazards – could ovens or hot water burns cause a risk? How will food allergies be handled? Are the containers for hot food and drink suitable?

Child protection hazards – is there a risk of children becoming lost? Could there be allegations or abuse or neglect – do staff need to be checked?

We write down all possible risks and who is at risk – be it attendees, crew, members of the public, or the venue itself. Then we write down how we will mitigate and manage each risk. This could be just noting basic measures, such as having a first-aider on site and accident report book. We create emergency plan

3. We carry out a risk assessment.

It’s important for us to plan for any situations that will require urgent action. This could be anything from a fire to a stage collapsing to even bad weather. We develop emergency procedures to be followed by anyone working on the event and discuss our plans with the venue management. For larger events and/or those not in a fixed venue, we include police, fire and rescue service and the ambulance service in your consultation.

Aspects we consider when developing procedures include:

Raising the alarm – how will we communicate the emergency with staff and volunteers?

Informing the public – do we have an adequate public address system? What is the procedure for stopping (and restarting) the show?

 Onsite emergency response – are there fire extinguishers? Do we need security staff?

Summoning and liaising with the emergency services – who will be our point of contact and how will we assist the emergency services?

Crowd management, including evacuation – how will we move people away from immediate danger to a place of safety, not forgetting to take people with limited mobility and children into consideration.

Traffic management – how will emergency vehicles gain access to the site? How will vehicles leave the site in the event of an emergency?

Providing first aid – are there sufficient medical provisions?

Handling casualties – how will patients be taken to a hospital? Will there be ambulances onsite?

4. We implement health and safety

As the event organizer, we are responsible for managing our staff, suppliers, and attendees to ensure they are not exposed to risk at all the different phases of the event, from set-up to break down.

We provide staff with relevant information during the site induction and ensure suppliers do the same for their employees. This includes information such as site hazards, speed limits and parking, first aid, toilets, and wash facilities, and emergency arrangements. We also provide relevant health and safety information to the public in the form of signage and/or a pre-event announcement.

We monitor risks throughout our events by creating a checklist and having a nominated individual/s responsible for checking at regular intervals. A clear and competently implemented paper trail is one of the best ways we use to mitigate risk. With Eagle Eye Projects and Events, your health and safety is super prioritized at all our events.

Reference: https://www.eventbrite.com/blog/guide-health-and-safety-for-events-ds00/ [accessed 23 August 2023]

Light It Up Blue on April 2 in celebration of people with autism and those who love and support them. Join the thousands of landmarks, buildings, homes and communities around the world and come together on April 2, World Autism Awareness Day to shine a light on the autism community.

World Autism Awareness Day for neuro-inclusivity: Why you should wear blue?

World Autism Awareness Day: The day gives autistic persons the chance to claim their dignity and self-worth and to fully integrate into society as valuable contributors to families and communities. Read more…

An interview with the New York Times

Hinton, who along with two of his graduate students at the University of Toronto created technology that became the intellectual foundation for AI systems, has now officially joined a growing number of critics warning about the risks of AI.

The downstream markets, refined petroleum products, and associated businesses are the main areas of focus for EGL, a wholly owned subsidiary of Mocoh Ghana Limited. Since its establishment in Africa 21 years ago, the Mocoh Group, with its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, has been actively engaged in the trading, transportation, and distribution of petroleum products across the continent.

Speaking at the event, Engen Ghana’s managing director, Brent Nartey, said the company’s Silver Jubilee is a celebration of its history, tenacious spirit, and collaborative successes.

He said it is also a testament to their determination to never forego providing exceptional customer service, keeping a sharp focus on safety and sustainability while yet reaching the changing wants and requirements of our clients without sacrificing quality.

Engen 25th years Anniversery articles

According to Mr. Nartey, Engen Ghana, which began operations in Ghana with only two service stations, today has 52 as a result of the resilient spirit that has kept them together over the years.

“We continue to be committed to realizing our goal of becoming Ghana’s preferred petroleum marketing firm. We are intentionally and slowly expanding our network to satisfy both current and future corporate and consumer expectations, he insisted, with a focus on today’s needs.

According to Mr. Nartey, the difficulties facing Ghana’s energy sector serve as a reminder that they must be flexible and agile in order to be competitive.

He said that as a business, they have helped children with cleft palates by working with the Osteogenesis Imperfecta Foundation and Operation Smile.

Additionally, the Engen Ghana MD stated that they would increase the number of plastic recycling stations at their gas stations while enticing their patrons to do so in exchange for rewards.

For the accomplishments made over the last 25 years, Mr. Nartey praised the management and team.

Guy Hacking, the chief executive officer of Mocoh, expressed his excitement at Engen Ghana’s accomplishments over the past 25 years.

He praised the company for its “constant focus on providing the best service and superior quality products to your customers and local communities through your daily interactions and was recently recognized when you were awarded Emerging Brand of the Year at the Ghana Oil and Gas Awards.”

Mr. Hacking gave the Engen Ghana team instructions to concentrate on the opportunities and difficulties in the upcoming 25 years.

With a shared objective to provide clients with the vital energy and resources they require to grow, he continued, “We are a strong, ambitious, and united team.

Herbert Krapa, the deputy minister for energy, asserted that Engen Ghana Limited is essential to Ghana’s petroleum history.

He asked the Engen Ghana Board, Management, and Staff to be Proud of What They Have All Accomplished Collectively.

When you celebrate your Golden Jubilee in 50 years, your accomplishments will be greater than those of the previous 25 years, he said.